Industry Decision Makers News

A consortium, led by the Global Maritime Forum and consisting of BHP, Rio Tinto, Oldendorff Carriers and Star Bulk Carriers Corp., signed a letter of intent (LOI) to assess the development of an iron ore Green Corridor between Australia and East Asia.To mobilize demand for green shipping and to scale zero- or near-zero greenhouse gas emission shipping, governments and industry decision-makers are increasingly looking to enable and simplify the task of decarbonizing the maritime sector by establishing Green Corridors: specific shipping routes where the economics…

Global safety standards body, OPITO, says safety in the oil and gas industry is still not good enough despite a five year improvement in the Middle-east. At its fifth annual safety and competence conference (OSCC 2014) in Abu Dhabi today (4 November 2014), OPITO called for more effective leadership to prevent fatal accidents, lost time incidents and near-misses. David Doig, group chief executive of OPITO, said: “The latest figures from the association of oil and gas producers (OGP) reveal that there were 88 fatalities in the industry across the world in 2012 with LTIs (lost-time incidents) increasing by 12%. This is simply not good enough. There are a number of common causal factors, one of which is inadequate standards.

The date and topic for this year’s OPITO Safety and Competence Conference – OSCC 2014 have been announced. Now in its fifth year, the annual event will take place on November 4, 2014 in the Fairmont Hotel, Abu Dhabi. Under the title of “Leading from the Front-line”, the conference will explore the dynamic of effective leadership and change management on human behaviors in relation to safety. Over 400 delegates and 25 exhibitors are expected at OSCC 2014 where leaders from the…

The American Shipbuilding Suppliers Association (ASSA) recently held discussions at the United States Navy Memorial & Naval Heritage Center, Washington DC,  between member companies and ADM Jonathan Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations; Ms. Allison Stiller, DASN Ships; and Mr. John Thackrah, Military Sealift Command, Executive Director. The theme of this meeting, attended by over 100 defense and shipbuilding supplier industry decision makers, was “Federal Budget Impact to American Shipbuilding Suppliers”.

Two weeks before the doors open at Europort, Rotterdam, organizer Ahoy is finalizing arrangements for the event that promises to provide a benchmark for the “state of the global maritime and offshore industry” in late 2013. Alongside attendees at its Advanced Technology Conferences industry seminars and networking opportunities, over 1,000 exhibitors will be present at Europort 2013, which takes place November 5-8 at Ahoy Rotterdam. This year, companies from 39 countries will participate, with international organizations accounting for 45% of all exhibitors. “Technical innovators will populate all 10 of the Ahoy exhibition halls”, said Raymond Siliakus, Europort Exhibition Manager.

NOL Group announced thatTom Behrens-Sørensen will join its board of directors July 1 and will serve as a member of both the Executive Resource and Compensation Committee and the Enterprise Risk Management Committee. A shipping veteran with more than three decades of international experience, Mr. Behrens-Sørensen has a distinguished track record as a business first-mover in Europe, Australia and across Asia – particularly in India and China. Mr. Behrens-Sørensen’s career included a 30-year tenure at A.P. Moller-Maersk, where he held several senior leadership roles. Notably, he led the company’s successful expansion into China from 1994 through 2009, and built strong relations with key local government officials and industry decision makers. Based in Beijing, Mr.

Recognition of Interferry’s growing role as a voice for the ferry industry has prompted classification society DNV and bookings/check-in systems specialist Carus to pledge long-term financial support for the trade association and its annual conference. Interferry offers two top-level Platinum sponsorships for the event – and each organisation has signed a five-year deal after stressing their belief that the association has a key role to play, not least in ensuring regulators take account of the impact of future legislation before it is passed.

The Ship Operations Cooperative Program (SOCP) cordially invites maritime industry representatives to attend and participate in its November meeting in Linthicum, MD on November 2nd and 3rd. Delegates and ranking officers of the US Maritime Administration and Department of Transportation were invited to address the meeting. In addition, senior representatives from Federal and State Government and the commercial industry will present a comprehensive discussion on the impact of regulatory changes in the areas of safety, environment and training in the US maritime industry.

The potential for sea tourism and its significance as a key factor in the development of the economies of Greece, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea region will be examined in depth during the Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum, scheduled to take place 21-22 June 2011 at the prestigious Onassis Cultural Centre in Athens. The forum will focus on three key areas of sea tourism: cruise shipping, the yachting industry and inter-island and passenger shipping. The first Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum comes at a time when this form of tourism is showing rapid growth globally…

A new “ginger group” of well-known maritime figures has announced a blog advocating more active involvement in the crusade for safer ships and cleaner seas, bridging the communication gap between conservation and environmental groups, industry decision-makers, and governments. At a press conference in London on 1 December 2009, Clay Maitland, a maritime executive and commentator, warned that ship quality standards are at risk due to financial cost-cutting during the present recession. At the meeting, Maitland announced the start-up of a new website (http://www.claymaitland.com) focusing on stimulating a dialogue on the environmental…

The National Waterways Conference, Inc. will hold its 2006 Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon on September 6-8. The NWC has not convened its Annual Meeting on the west coast since the organization was founded in 1960. This year’s Annual Meeting, with the theme, Prepare Today for the Needs of Tomorrow, is bringing together key government and industry decision makers from throughout the nation to address current and emerging issues that potentially affect the future viability of the nation’s ports and waterways. The two-day program will include presentations by regional leaders concerning opportunities and challenges faced by navigation and flood control interests, such as endangered species compliance, levee protection and transportation congestion.

In a bold move, The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME), in partnership with 12 professional naval architecture and marine engineering organizations from around the globe, has created The World Maritime Technology Conference and Exposition. From October 17-20, 2003 in San Francisco, Calif., key marine industry decision-makers, leaders, engineers, managers, technicians, educators, shipyards, equipment manufacturers, naval forces, government, ship owners and operators, classification societies, and leaders of worldwide maritime organizations will meet at a single conference to discuss and debate the issues facing the maritime industry in this unprecedented forum.

The Coast Guard officially announced its initial deployment of Homeport, an internet portal. Homeport (version 1.0) is the official Coast Guard information technology system for maritime security created to provide information and services to the maritime community and the public over the Internet. Coast Guard Federal Maritime Security Coordinators will use Homeport as a primary means for the day-to-day management and communication of port security matters with Area Maritime Security Committee members, commercial vessel and facility owners and operators, government partners, and the public. Homeport will afford instant access to information necessary to support increased information sharing requirements amongst Federal…